Silver Feather
by Bleu-Marine-2
Summary: It's nice to be lovers, but is it enough? A stolen moment in the intimacy of Syd and Eric's bedroom... Fluffy sweet companion piece to The Sleep of the Just - S3 after Crossings  minor spoilers  - AU - SWEISS
1. Chapter 1

**Spoilers: S3, some time after Crossings. No real spoilers, though.**

**Summary: It's nice to be lovers, but is it enough? A stolen moment in the intimacy of Syd and Eric's bedroom.**

**Disclaimer: bottom line: Not mine. Got no money. Let's just be friends and enjoy the show...**

**Note: this is a companion piece to The Sleep of the Just, but it can also be read as a stand-alone. A moment of fluffy sweetness with a spot of angst. Enjoy... :-)

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"Close your eyes." Eric tells her.

Syd stares at him. They've been intimate for almost two months now. She knows better than to just comply when he's got that roguish expression on his face. "Whyyy?" She asks with a small smile, her eyes squinting a little in mock suspicion.

Eric chuckles, reading her thoughts like an open book. "What do you mean, why? Where's the trust? Come on Syd, humor me."

Now she's really wondering what silliness he's got in reserve. She moves away from him. Her side of the bed has been cold since the middle of the night, but the distance makes her feel like she hasn't lost all control… just yet. "Nah hah." She teases. A smirk betrays her delight at the game that's shaping up. "No trust. I'm a spy, remember. I know your wicked ways, Agent Weiss. I'm not letting you near me till I hear why."

Eric laughs out right at her stubbornness. God, she's beautiful when her eyes sparkle like that. And that little smile that makes her lips look so kissable... Which reminds him of why they're having this conversation in the first place. "Because if your eyes aren't closed, I don't think I'll be able to go through with it."

Okay, now, she's intrigued. Shy is not exactly Eric's middle name. So what's he got on his mind? She scrutinizes his features, but he's not letting on to anything. If she wants to know, she'll have to take a leap of faith.

"Come on, Syd… Please..." He pleads, his tone soothing and seductive. He sits up and gives her partially draped body a suggestive once over. After all, the thin blue sheet leaves very little to the imagination...

She fights her excitement. She really tries not to give in too fast. But soon, her smile reappears. It's been a whole new experience, making love with Eric. Any doubt she ever had that he wasn't her type, that she might be on the rebound and shouldn't date, all of it has been swept away by the exquisite pleasure, the profound tenderness between them.

And the games. One of the perks of being with someone who doesn't take life too seriously, she figures. Over the last few weeks, she's become addicted to his never-ending imagination and the sensual stories he whispers to her as he helps forget the world around her. How could she refuse to give into his desire when their lovemaking invariably leaves her panting and satiated? " 'kay." She consents, playful. "Closing eyes now." And her eyelids follow her words.

Eric grins, tickled as he always is that Sydney trusts him enough to abandon herself to his wishes. He knows what it is like to give up control when all your life is about not losing it.

But first, there's a couple of things to set up for this to work.

"Wait, move down a little." And he grabs her by the waist and pulls her towards the middle of the bed. All the while, Sydney is giggling. "There. Much better. Oh, and Syd. Look at me..."

"You just told me to close my eyes!"

"Yeah… Cute. Open 'em up." She turns her head towards him, amused by his antics. He looks back at her with that mysterious stare he gets sometimes. His eyelids are half-closed. His voice is low. Beneath the caressing inflections, she can feel the power she's agreed to give him. "There's one rule to this game." He holds her gaze without wavering. "You have to keep your eyes closed at all times and follow what I say to the letter. No matter what happens."

His right index rises to trace her lips sensually. She lets out a sigh, her eyes closing again. He gets closer and murmurs in her ear. "At all times. No matter what. Do you agree, Syd?" His index plunges slightly beyond her lips and into the warmth of her mouth, then back out. Her breath catches. "Do you?"

"Yesss..." Sydney sighs, already mellow with the surge of desire that just heated up her center.

Eric smiles to himself. Everything is in place now.

Swiftly, he gets up and reaches for the nightstand drawer. In there, he takes a medium-length feather he found on the floor the night before, after a memorable pillow fight that lead to their best lovemaking yet. He also sets a small round object on the top of the nightstand for later use.

He's been looking for an opportunity to do this for a while. When he saw the feather last night, the plan came to him like a lightening bolt. He's hardly slept in anticipation. Even now, his breathing is a little short, his heart beating like it's trying to get out of his chest. He sits back on the bed and considers the white feather that weighs nothing and only covers a fourth of his hand. So much riding on such a little fluffy thing...

Sydney has been waiting patiently, trying to guess what he was up to by the sound of his movements around the room. She recognized the nightstand drawer opening and closing. But there's almost nothing in there except her _Alice in Wonderland_ book, dental floss, and a few pencils and pieces of paper. She's trying to think of erotic ways to use dental floss, but nothing comes to...

A tickling sensation at the tip of her nose makes her gasp and scrunch her face up. She almost opens her right eye.

"...Ah ah ah... No peeking." Eric cautions her playfully. Just in case, he hides the feather away. Let her wonder for a while…

At the loss of the sensation, Sydney isn't sure if she's relieved or even more restless than before. This is the first time Eric has asked to do this: to just be there, and yet not be *there*. To be aware of what's happening around her only through sound and touch, and not to interact with anything of her own accord. If she has control and trust issues, they're going to be out in the open by the end of this game.

Eric may have this Teddy bear look about him, but that's only part of the story, she's discovered. Below the soft, fun exterior, there's a strong will and a few, almost inflexible rules he lives by. That's what makes him such a dependable, talented field agent and backup. If, as it seems, he's set out to make her surrender to him like never before, she doesn't doubt for a second that he's got the means to reach his goal.

She bites lightly into her lower lip, feeling the contact acutely. Her senses are enhanced by her temporary blindness. The powerlessness is unnerving, exhilarating. And, as her center contracts, she becomes aware it's also very arousing.

The fluffy caress starts again. Around her face now. Then another sort of caress takes her by surprise. The hard tip of Eric's tongue slowly follows the curve of her eyebrows and eyelids. Softly, he blows on the wet trail. The sensation is cold at first, then tempered a second later as the fluffy thingy follows the same path like a heavenly cloud of warmth. Her eyes resolutely closed, Sydney sighs. Already, the little spots of tension in her body are softening. God, how come Eric is so good at making her feel peaceful and treasured?

Alternately kissing lightly and licking his way down, Eric reaches his first stop: Syd's lush lips, already parted by the desire he can feel rising in her. Slowly, he moves the feather down along the narrow paths and to her mouth. "Lick your lips for me, Syd… Go ahead, baby, wet them."

His words flow like harmonic honey. She's already beyond questioning. Without thinking, she complies. She draws a breath when she feels the fluffy thing against the tip of her tongue. Tentative, she explores. No taste, small thread-like texture... A feather...

Leisurely, Eric draws the shape of her lips with it, then brings it down along her neck and around her breasts.

The feather leaves tiny trails moist with her saliva. Following the progression, her skin tingles and burns; every nerve ending in her awakens.

Her breathing accelerates when she guesses his next destination. She holds her breath. Lightly, he licks the tip of her right breast. She gasps at the freezing sensation when he blows across her hardening nipple.

Eric grins knowingly at her response. In the past two months, he's had time to discover some of her more sensitive spots: the area just below her ears, the hollow of her neck, her inner forearms and hands, the underside of her breasts, the small of her back... That's besides the more obvious areas. He's hasn't catalogued everything yet, but his exploration has already been pretty thorough. He loves her smell. He loves how of every inch of her skin feels like silk. God, he loves her so much…

"You like that, huh?" He smirks as he blows across her left nipple and she gasps again, her back arching.

"Is that a rhetorical question? Mmmm…" She moans as his teeth gently close around the hardened tip and his tongue teases it.

He releases the pressure. "Ooh, sassy…" If experience serves, Syd is already on her way to her first orgasm. He's gonna have to slow down if he really wants to bring her where he is going.

So he moves the feather along her sides. The tension brakes and he is rewarded with peels of giggles from her. He smiles at her mirth. "This is too easy, you know. You realize I'm gonna have to nickname you Tickle-Me-Syd, right?" He mocks gently, his mouth kissing her belly button, then noisily blowing wind against her skin, which sends her laughing even harder under the vibrations. Maybe that was too much. By the way she's moving, he can sense her focus is dispersing. But he isn't even close to finished. "Remember, love. No look-see… We wouldn't want me to stop before I reach base now, would we..." He teases.

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**I so love to hear what you think. A little review? Pretty please?**


	2. Chapter 2

**The conclusion of Silver Feather. I hope you're enjoying the fluffiness... A little angst to go with it in this last chapter.**

**Let me know how you liked it!**

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The low rumbling of his voice sends thrills down her spine. Her laughs abating, she catches her breath. She's totally relaxed now. The laughter has ripped apart the last remnants of tension in her chest. It's like there is light inside her. She sighs, content. One thing intrigues her, though. "Why the closing the eyes, Eric? I want to see you. I want us to make love."

"Patience… As nice as that sounds, you're gonna have to wait a little." He reminds her quietly. "But after we're done here, I'll be happy to follow up on your request, agent Bristow." He goes back up her body for a few seconds. "I promise you'll have my undivided attention." He whispers against her lips, dropping a soft kiss there before heading back to her belly button. He can still feel her getting antsy and wiggly... Better get on with it. "So you want to know why, huh? Alright, I'll help you guess. What do you feel right now?"

Sydney's brow furrows a bit, wondering where Eric is going with this. But she's promised to play along, so she does. "I feel your hands against my hips. Your mouth on my skin…"

"Nononono, wrong *feel.* What do you feel inside?"

"Oh, that… Well, I'm excited, I guess…" She says as if nothing much was happening.

"You guess?" With that, he traces a bee line with the feather, heading straight for the little nub of flesh he can see pointing out from between her nether lips. Relentless, he teases it until she lets out her first cry of rapture.

The surge of light inside her came out of nowhere. She's panting, drowning, then back to the surface. She hangs on to his name like it's a life-jacket. "Oh God, Eric... Eric… I don't think I can take more of this. Please… Let me open my eyes."

He chuckles gently. "Not yet, grasshopper. First, you've got to answer my question right."

"I already did!" She protests feebly, a smile stealing over her parted lips.

"Two wrong answers so far. One more chance…"

At a loss, Sydney's foggy mind can hardly focus. She has to, though, or he'll stop. And she can't have him stop. This is too good. What does he want to hear? Frustration gains her. "What do I feel? Like I'm going down a slide and I never want it to end… Is that better?"

He grins at the slight worry he spots in her voice. "It'll buy you an extra guess…"

Arrrgh, he's driving her crazy… Wait, maybe that's it. "I feel… loved, teased, worshiped … I feel like I'll go mad if I can't open my eyes and kiss you right now… ahhhh…" She reaches her peak again as his tongue's tip flickers the hard bundle of nerves so close to her center. "Ahhhh… Eric… Eric…" She begs as he shows her no mercy and continues to excite her until she's covered in a fine veil of sweat. She arches her back hard, her whole body wracked by spasms of pleasure that sate her senses, but not the hunger she feels inside.

While she quiets down, Eric continues his exploration along her inner thighs, at the hollow behind her knees. All the way to her feet and toes. Then suddenly, he leaves her to move about the room. "No!" She cries out, her eyes ready to open and search for him. He can't leave her, not now. She's so far gone she's liquid. Not a bone in her body could support her. "I swear to God, Eric" she warns, still panting, "I'll never forgive you if you leave me like that…"

"Like what?" He whispers against her left ear.

She jumps a little at the sensation of his breath on her neck. "Like I don't deserve anymore of your attention for now. I do. God, I do. I need you inside me. I want you to make love to me. Wait, no…"

She suddenly realizes what he's wanted to hear her say. Because she never has, has she? She never completely dispersed his worries about her not being attached to Vaughn any longer. She's never absolutely said *it*. A bout of sadness seizes her. How long has he had doubts? As long as you've been together, a little voice inside her answers. God, how could she not realize this? Her heart aches at her carelessness. "No. That's not what I want… What I want is to make love to you. I want to show you what you mean to me." A couple of stray tears roll down towards her ears. "Eric, can I open my eyes now? I need to look at you when I say this."

" 'kay." He agrees as he kisses away the salty paths her tears have left. This is it. The worried look that passed like a shadow over her face a second ago tells him he's about to find out where he stands with her. For two months, he's done his best to ignore the fears gnawing at him. But now, he's getting in too deep. He needs to know for sure. He pulls back a little, his face stilled against the turmoil of his emotions. Time to face the music. His eyes lock with hers.

Her eyelids weighed down by longing, Sydney gazes up at him. Her expression is soft, open. Her right hand comes up to caress his left cheek with tenderness. "I feel it, Eric. I belong here with you. I don't doubt myself anymore. You have to believe that." She whispers, rising from her cozy spot on the bed and closing in on him. "Remember when you asked if everything was over with Michael... I could only say a partial "yes"?" He nods, silent, unable to breathe. "Ask me now." She prompts, her lips almost touching his.

In order to do that, he realizes he's got to find his voice again. Some brain activity would help as well. He manages to make both function briefly, just long enough to let the words out. "Is everything over with him?"

"Yes." She punctuates her answer with a light kiss, then pulls back a little to gauge his reaction. The shuddering breath Eric takes in tells her how much this means to him. She hates herself for thoughtlessly fueling his doubts for so long. She gets closer again, intent on making him forget he ever had them. "It's over... And I choose to be with you, only with you…" Without hesitation, she bridges the distance between them for good.

Their lips meet gently. The kiss is tentative and novel as if it were a new lovers kiss.

Eric is on cloud nine. He was so worried Syd might not be ready. This must be one of the dreams where he fantasized about her ending up with him rather than... Ok, no more of that. Her choice is made. Make that: he finally believes she made her choice. He sighs and whispers near her lips, his voice hoarse from so much more than just yearning "…'love you, Syd… God, how I love you…" His long-denied desire takes over. Soon, he covers her body with his and surges inside her. Their breaths catch at the incredible feeling of unity… No more barriers, no more uncertainties between them… So truly close for the first time...

Lost in the instant, Eric starts moving in long sensual strokes. Nothing can be heard, but the sighs and moans of their lovemaking. As their passion peaks, time suspends. They collapse against each other, spent.

Minutes later, her mind still floating, Sydney buries her nose in Eric's neck, lightly kissing her way to his earlobe. "I love you…" She repeats every time her lips touch his skin. No more second guessing. She wants to make sure Eric knows their relationship isn't just a replacement for what she lost.

He chuckles softly, touched that she's trying so hard to squander his fears away. "That's a great coincidence 'cause I've got this little thing to give you… Don't think you'd appreciate it much if you hated my guts…"

She looks up, thrilled and grinning at him. "A gift? What is it? Where? How?"

"Woahwoahwoah… hold it." He calms her, trying to stem the flow of her excitement. He reaches out to grab something on the nightstand. His palm open, he presents her with a tiny silver ring engraved with wavy patterns and dots.

Surprised, Sydney takes the ring between her right index and thumb. It almost disappears under her fingertips. "Eric, it's lovely, thank you; it's so…" she continues, trying to spare his feelings, "… tiny. I know you think I'm skinny, but I don't know if I can…"

She stops as Eric laughs his heart out. When his hilarity subsides, he takes the ring again. "My niece-Sarah's her name-she's the one who showed me this. It's a commitment toe ring. She explained that you wear it after you promise to go exclusive with your date." He takes on a serious look, imitating Valley talk. "She's twelve. She's got this punk boyfriend who's like fifteen and. so. cool. They're really tight." Sydney laughs at his impersonation even as fresh tears of gratitude and love are pooling in her eyes.

Back to his normal voice, he forges on. "I wanted to give you something that would only have meaning for *us*." He looks down at the tiny silver band, suddenly feeling a little intimidated. "I didn't think you'd like parading around the Ops Center with a big rock hanging off one of your hands. But I figured you wouldn't mind being toe-committed…"

He doesn't have time to finish that Sydney is hugging him tight, as a sound between a laugh and a cry escapes her. Crazy, sweet, adorable Eric… Her heart aches with happiness, and she wonders what she's done to deserve such a wonderful man. She pulls back to look at him, her cheeks blushing with delight. "I accept." She tells him, her smile radiating like the sun in the summer. She takes the small ring and places it on her second right toe. She glances up, grinning. "Thank you. I love it. This is the sweetest… God, you're so good to me. How can I ever…" A wrinkle appears between her eyebrows. "What about you? Am I the only one to be toe-committed?"

He brings up his right foot where a glint of silver shines on his second toe as well. "… Been wearing mine since a little after we got together. Some spy you are that you never noticed it…" he mocks her gently.

"Actually, I saw it. But I thought maybe it was something from your past that you didn't want to talk about, so I never asked. I won't make that mistake again." She smiles at him and closes the distance between them. Her kiss is charged with all the love and tenderness she feels at that very moment. Without even registering it, he kisses her back in kind.

After they part, Eric pulls her up with him towards the top of the bed and covers their bodies with the light sheet. They snuggle together, ready for some rest after the exertion of the morning. Before they fall asleep, Sydney hears Eric murmur to her. "Next gift… I'm thinking nose piercing. What do you say?"

"Only if we never go back to work and always stay home."

Eric smiles groggily, lost in the feel of Sydney's form tightly flushed against him. He tightens his hold around her shoulders and presses her into his chest. His head comes down a little and he kisses her hair lightly. "...'will hand my resignation in on Monday…" He whispers just before sleep claims them both.

In her dream, Sydney smiles.

Fin

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